The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Charity runners taking care to warn Balmoral
APE teacher had to warn royal officials about plans to run past Balmoral in the middle of the night.
Last night, Scott Birse and three friends tested their mettle like never before when they began an 82-mile challenge beginning at the source of the River Dee at Braeriach to Aberdeen in less than a day.
Their route took them past the gates of Balmoral at about 2am this morning.
Wary of sparking fears of a Michael Fagan-like intrusion into the Queen’s summer residence, Scott had to alert castle officials to his plans.
He said: “We had to inform Balmoral we are coming through, passing on the details of when we would be in the area.
“It might look a bit strange having four guys running up to the gates at 2am.”
The fundraisers estimate the route is 82 miles.
Scott said: “We don’t know the exact route we will have to take to start with as we come out of the Cairngorms.
“Going by all the maps and GPS it seems like it will be an overall 82 miles, but it might be more than that with detours or whatever.
“We will have to think about our pace, we want to keep it steady so we don’t get tired out.
“We don’t want to fail.” Banchory Tesco recently donated the lads mounds of food to keep them going on the run, with everything from gallons of water to packets of Jelly Babies in the bundle.
That’s just one example of the local support they have had, and many locals were expected to join them as they passed through the town this morning.
Those unable to run or pedal alongside as they depart offered some morale-boosting words of encouragement as they rest their aching legs.
One thing Scott is glad of is that he didn’t plan the fundraiser for last weekend when soaring temperatures left many folk scuttling into the shade.
He said: “If we did it last weekend, I don’t think we would have achieved it.
“Thankfully this weekend it looks like it will be overcast but pleasant, which is fine for us.”
Scott initially planned the run to raise cash to go towards new sports facilities in Banchory.
But the father-of-two was moved by children’s charity Charlie House’s appeal for funds to create a new specialist centre in Aberdeen, and decided to split the donations between the two causes.
He said: “It was while planning this that I got speaking to Donna Deans, the fundraising manager for Charlie House.
“I have two kids myself and hearing about what Charlie House does to help families pulled on my heartstrings a wee bit.
“I know how much work they do in the community and it’s a fantastic charity.”
Scott’s tally is currently hovering around £9,000 but he hopes to reach £10,000.
People can find out more on the Source to Sea Facebook page or follow the challenge in real time with an online tracker Peter has devised.
The runners reached Linn of Quoich at about 11pm yesterday after jogging 15 miles and should have reached Ballater by 3.21am.
Having travelled 46.5 miles, they then reached Aboyne at around 5.35am.
By the time they arrived at the King George VI park in Banchory at 8.30 this morning they had been running for 61.3 miles.
They will be nearing the end when they reach Drumoak at about 10am, having covered 68 miles.
The men will have run for 79 miles by the time they reach Duthie Park shortly after noon today.
One final push, and they will have completed the estimated 82 miles by stopping at Fittie at 12.41pm.